Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-08-21
PERILS OF THE SEA
HOW TrEY ace MSTAyD ovsRcoNg--
APPRgHEsslONs or LaHDsaEH.
How, with All the Material Progress Of
the Age. Hans Insigri1csnce is
Shown on tho Seas.
Exchanged

Tie modern song and story makers
are not as fond as were their prcdeccs.
sors of the olden time Of referring 10
waves that "Iun mountains high, y
"crested pillows soaring above the
maintop.' aud oil that sort OF thing.
That kind OF literature and ministry 30
the popular ilea gassed ont with the
big ships disappeared from the ocean
of reading matter just as square-ri8ged
craft Of every description vanished
upon the advent Of ocean steam vessels,
and are now scarcely to be found in any
OF their old baunts or situations. The
romance of the sea and its navigation
was insepGrahle from sails and rigging,
and hulls. which depended rather upon
the skill Of commander than any
powers afforded by insnimatc agencies,
for the safe and successful prosecution
of voyage and venture.
Nevertheless. the sea has not changed
during all tie years since creation, AL
the attributes OF old ocean remain the
same as when Paul the Apostle made
his coasting trips, or Columbus the dis
coyerer set the example of long yOY-
ages. Tie wipds roll up the waves IN
precisely the sane manDert0.day rs ~
The days Of Noah. Currents are ~ d.
ccitiu!. lee shores as terrible, iceberg,
as dangerous. hurricanes as formidable
as when the navics If the earth were
in their infancy. Mankind has per-
fcCted the methods and multiplied the
inventions for meeting or providing
against all these natural manifestations
but the ALMIGHTY, who, looking upon
lis work in the first place. saw that it
was good, has made not the slightest
change in its order since the begin
ming. nor in any sense met halfway
the eudeavors OF His creatures to obtain
supremacy.
And so it is that, notwithstanding al.
the advances which man has made in
the direction OF overcoming the natural
obstacles to navigation Of the ocean, 1t
still remains that he has not progressed
in the least in most desirable ways AMI
in matters of vital importinCe. For
example: FOgs, as an elemcn, opposed
to marine operations. are not a whit
less dangt rous to-day than in the days
when the great admIrals Of the notions
modelled their vessels upon the washer
womans tub. The combing, break
ing "soa" will tear in pieces the
modern-built hull just as quickly and
as completely as was the case when the
Armada founderod.
Collisions Mt sea are even worse now
tLan in the oldeu tiue. for rates OF
speed are higher. and when mistake,
occur they ere sure to be- more di,ls-
irous than when a simpler orior OF
things prevailed. IN tie matter OF ST.
curity aoainst fire the dividing Of ships
into compartments. whereby practical
j. many hulls are made of one, and
similar provisions against accident or
had management, there is something
10 be said for human invention and
discovery, but in many supreme points
nature still holds an irresistible front.
Tut the hndsman's measure of the
peIiis Of the ocean is not very likely 10
repre- sent that which affects the captain
OF the first-class liner" among ST am
ships nor is the estimate OF danger %
even the most experienced passenger
by any means sure 10 impress e vet
eran navigator equally. The Que recog-
nizes lurking mlshaps IN q fog, and Is
tried to the verge of endurance during
its prevalence, while the other whistle
carelessly because the sea is smooth and
the winds are luiled. The captain notes
with a concentration Of apprehension
the gathering of icebergs on every
hand. well knowing that the slightest
change in the weather, or the sudden
drawing of curtain of mist, may put
him at his wits end in extricating his
vessel and all the while his passenger
delights in the sunshine cleaning
from a thousand pinnhcles, and the
grotesque marShallng OF the unique
amy. The captain, finding ms
craft in the midst OF powerful tide
ways and Influenced by hidden chr
rents, sees with awe and di'trust that
wind and waves are rising in cOnlunc-
ton, and that the waters present more
and more the formation. peculiar t.
the situation, of perpendicular walls,
seemingly and actually ready to top
pie over upon whatever opposes with
an overwhelming force.
These are not fancy pictures OF pos
sible dangers which might confront the
navigator, az exceptional experiences Ia
q long career. They are ever present,
practical situations, which the trans
Atlantic steamship captain must be IA
miliar with, and in the midst OF which
he lives ana works. That his vessel Is
propelled by steam power is something
III his favor, when is almost neutrslil Il
by the fsctthat she is sure to be of size
ard Proportions, and to present dIii-
culties IN navigation far IN excess o.
HAT which would be- the ease il
she depended solely upon sail,
for propulsion 4 break in ma
chinory during furious gale
contact Of such bulk, be II ever 50
slight apparently, with M iceberg
bind cruising Hinder so tremendous r.
sponsibiliiy in the midst Of dense fols.
sometimes for days The decision of a
thousand questions which may arise OF
what is best 10 be done or avoided -
the captains dread is not of the suOer-
naoural, the unusual, the extreme in
waves. or storms, or gales, but III the
ordinary evils Of the sea, which are in
separable from its navigation and
trayersing, which have existed unmiti-
gated since creations dawn, and which
will continue TO the end.